Different From Me
by The Wonderful Nobody
Summary: Selphie's been wearing the mask for so long to please so many people, but when she finally removes the mask… Will anyone be pleased with her anymore?
1. Sick of Sunshine

**Different From Me**

_Selphie's been wearing the mask for so long to please so many people, but when she finally removes the mask… Will anyone be pleased with her anymore?_

_Chapter One: Sick of Sunshine_

Selphie forced a big goofy grin to her face as she pressed her hands to her scraped knees. The cafeteria burst into laughter as the young woman tried to climb to her feet but slipped again in the spilt tea. She bit her lip to stave away the tears. Her skirt was ripped and wet, her shirt stained with the brown liquid, her hair a mess. She was falling to pieces in front of them and all they could do was laugh.

Carefully she picked herself up and added the final touch to the matter: a not so graceful bow from Selphie Timlett. This time a hand reached out to her and she sighed in relief as she took the gauntlet-covered hand of Zell Dincht. A real smile brightened her face this time. "Thank you." She whispered as he handed her a towel and a comb. He grinned and scratched the back of his head.

"You looked like you could use a little help." He said, squatting down to pick up her tray and the remains of her food and tea. The cafeteria behind them returned to their food and conversations as they realized that the little 'show' was over.

Selphie growled. "Yeah, too bad Irvine's too busy to help me out…" She spat his name out like it was some vile thing buried in her food. Zell followed her gaze to Irvine who had not noticed the whole incident. The usual crowd of adorers surrounded him. Quistis Trepe was not the only one with a fan club.

Zell shook his head. "I'm Irvine's friend and all but… Why do you let him hurt you, Seffie?" Selphie looked at Zell sadly. She took the tray from him.

"He's the only one who wants the real me, Zell." She turned away from him and dumped her trash and returned the towel to the lunch lady who claimed that Zell was a noble young man, much like her own son. It was a half-hour later that Selphie managed to get the lunch lady off topic so she could leave.

After leaving the cafeteria, she went to her dorm room and collapsed on her bed, still in tea stained and ripped clothes, to cry.


	2. Sick of You

_Chapter Two: Sick of You_

Selphie sighed again as the answering machine picked up her call once again and she slammed the phone down on the base. She cradled her head in her hands for a moment, breathing deeply to keep from screaming. She clenched her eyes shut, willing herself to wake up from this nightmare.

Had it all really happened? Did Quistis really tell her that Irvine got caught cheating on Selphie with some stupid girl from his stupid crowd of adorers? Quistis tried to be soft and motherly when she told Selphie about her walking in on the cowboy and the student but by then, Selphie was wearing a small smile and waved the whole thing off, saying that something else might have been going on. _Are you sure you saw what you saw, Quistis? Did you talk to him about it?_

Selphie had giggled when Quistis stuttered and stumbled, muttering a faint apology for not confronting Irvine about it. Selphie could tell the young woman was thoroughly confused. Well, why not? Quistis had tried the dating thing and finally settled down with an ideal man…. Well, he's ideal in Quistis's eyes anyway. Selphie never fully comprehended why Quistis was dating the man that had single handedly led to the rise of Ultimecia.

They had been dating for some time now and Quistis often confided in Selphie her concerns about Seifer cheating on her. Many nights had passed when Quistis cried on her shoulder, while the young brunette sheltered her own burdens about her boyfriend's fidelity or lack there of. Selphie had never mirrored the same concerns to Quistis, even though Irvine's reputation of being a womanizer was well established.

Selphie had finally plastered the goofy grin on her thin face and assured Quistis that she was fine, her and Irvine were fine, and everything was _fine_. But once the door had closed behind her, the tears had came undoubtedly. Selphie's hand reached for the phone but pulled away every time, scared of the voice on the other end.

Irvine had been the only one who ever knew what she was really all about. The rainbows and freakin' sunshine persona wasn't her. It was who everyone wanted her to be. Irvine knew that Selphie was really just like everyone else, she could be happy, and sad, and mad. She had mood swings and got stressed out. She was even capable of crying.

Which she did a lot of when she lifted the receiver to her ear, pinning it there with a bony shoulder. Which she did a lot of when she dialed the number with a heavy finger and an even heavier heart. Which she did when she heard the steady drone of the answering machine pick up her call, instead of her boyfriend's smooth drawling voice.

Finally, after two hours of hitting the redial button and well after she found her tears had been exhausted, Irvine picked up the phone, his voice slightly groggy. "H- Hello?" He said, yawning into the phone.

_I'm sick of you._

"Anyone there?"

_I'm so sick of you messing around behind my back._

"Hello? What the hell did you call for?" Irvine's groggy voice was beginning to sound angry. _Good, _Selphie thought. _I want him to be as pissed off as I am._ Selphie had opened her mouth to accuse her boyfriend to accuse him of the crime she knew deep down he had committed when something stopped her cold.

"Irvy? Who is it?"

A _woman's _voice?

"Apparently it's no one."

"Well, come back to bed!"

"I'm sick of you." Selphie found the words tumbling out over her lips before she had the chance to catch them and stop them.

"Selphie? What's going on?" She could hear him shushing the woman in the background.

"I'm so sick of you, Irvine. I'm so sick of you pretending to love me and care about me when you are really just like the rest of them." She hissed into the phone. For some reason, her voice had dropped to a whisper. Maybe she didn't want the woman in her boyfriend's bed to hear her. Or maybe she felt she had to whisper to keep from screaming.

"Seffie, baby? What are you talking about? Are you okay? Is it about what happened yesterday in the cafeteria? Look, I'm sorry about that. I tried to help you but - " She cut him off, not wanting to listen to the lies and excuses that she had forced herself to believe for so long. What an idiot she had been…

"I'm sick of you lies, Irvine. I'm not talking about the cafeteria. I'm talking about what Quistis saw you and that same skank you have in your bed right now doing in her classroom!" Her voice had risen to a shout.

"What? That was nothing. I was just talking to her, I swear. Quistis doesn't know shit. She needs to stop filling your head with ideas. It's all because she's dating that bastard traitor, Almasy."

"I'm sick of you!" She screamed.

xxx

Since she was a level A SeeD, the highest level there is, saved for 'heroes' only, it was an easy task to get a key and a fast car from the parking garage within minutes of her break-up with Irvine. After beating the crap out of the receiver and base, she had slipped on clean shorts and a tank top and headed out the door, feeling like the walls of Balamb Garden were closing in on her, crushing her and suffocating her.

She drove to the only home away from Balamb that she had, other than the orphanage. Molly Dincht accepted the young brunette into her home more than willingly. Selphie, guilt-ridden about lying, had told Molly that she was sent on a mission to inspect Balamb City and the growth of the city after the last Sorceress War. She said that she had planned on getting a room at the inn and had just stopped by to say hi but Molly insisted that she stay there at her house.

"You should know that you are more than welcome, anytime, sweetheart!" Molly called out to Selphie over the pot of boiling water and rice. Selphie was in the adjoining room to the kitchen, her eyes tracing over figures in the pictures that Molly had framed and set beneath the window's sunny light. Zell at all ages smiled up at her, his blonde having always been spiky, his eyes the same laughing sky-blue. Selphie found herself smiling, despite the heavy depression that had set in.

"You look tired, maybe you should rest?" Molly suggested, wiping her hands on her apron. She pointed to the stairs that led to Zell's bedroom. "You can rest up there. He talks about you so much that I'm sure he won't mind you being up there." Selphie nodded, hiding a yawn. She hadn't realized how exhausted she really was. She tried calculating how many hours of sleep she had gotten in the last week but she found them too few to count and trudged up the stairs.

She was surprised at the state of Zell's bedroom. With is eccentric personality, she figured his room would be a total disaster zone, with games, comic books, and workout equipment littering the floors. But his bed was neatly made, the floor swept and clean, the walls bare, except for a single picture just above his dresser. She stepped closer, craning her head back to look at the stately figure dressed in a soldier's garb. She was reaching a hand towards it when a voice interrupted her.

"That's my grandpa."

She spun around, yanking her hand back to her chest. Zell was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. He gave her a quick smile before coming to stand beside her. He shoved his fists into his pockets and turned to look at the man in the photograph. She stepped beside him trying to stop her heart from racing after being startled.

"I never really knew my parents or relatives. When I came to Balamb, Molly heard about me and wanted to adopt me. That man right there was her father. He was the greatest guy I've ever met. He took me in and treated me like I was his own. He was the father figure I never really had. He taught me so many things. He had been in the first sorceress war and he told me so many stories. He inspired me so much that I just had to do anything to make him as proud of me as I was of him. That's why I wanted to become a SeeD. And why I was so eager to defeat Ultimecia…" Zell raised a fist in honor to the man in the photo before turning away and collapsing on the bed.

"So where is he now?" Selphie asked, taking one last look at the man before turning towards Zell, who had sat back up.

He hung his head. "He died a while ago. Before I even became a SeeD." She walked over to the bed and sat beside him.

"I'm really sorry, Zell…" She said, adding guilt to the weight of the world on her shoulders. He shook his head and smiled sadly at her.

"Nah, it's cool. I know that he would be proud of me so it's okay. And I still have Ma to care about." He said, grinning. "Oh, and you!" He said, laughing as he ruffled her hair and she squealed in protest.

"Hey!" She cried out, shoving his arm away, giggling.

"It's nice to see you smile for once, Seffie." He murmured. "I heard about what happened. Irvine tried to come to me because he knows that you and I are good friends. He wanted me to try to talk you back into forgiving him and coming back to him." Selphie lifted her dark green eyes to him. She couldn't read the emotion in Zell's face. She looked towards her feet, waiting for him to try to convince her to forgive Irvine.

"Aw, Seffie, you don't really think that I'd try to convince you to go back out with that jerk, do you? Honestly, I think this is the break you needed to get your life on the track you want it on. Finally, you can be you, Selphie." She tilted her head in his direction, peeking up at him. "And I know who you really are and it's time they know as well." She nodded and tried to hide a yawn. He gave her a quick hug before jumping up to his feet. He walked out but stopped in the doorframe to look back at her.

"Get some sleep, Sleepyhead! Tomorrow's a new start, Selphie!" He flashed her a grin before heading down the stairs. She laid back onto the bed, with a smile on her face. He was right, this was what she needed, a chance to start anew. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	3. A New Start

_Chapter Three: A New Start _

She slept well through the afternoon, through the night and finally woke up with midmorning sun shining through the window onto the bed. She groaned and covered her eyes with her arm before she realized that she wasn't in the dorm anymore. She sat up quickly, forgetting where she was momentarily. Yesterday's events slowly trickled back into her mind, as well as a sense of urgency. What if Irvine was here? If he were bold enough to ask Zell to get her to forgive him, would he be bold enough to actually show up here?

She leapt to her feet and tiptoed down the stairs when she heard muffled voices. Whoever was here, they were in the living room. She creeped into the kitchen and stopped next to the doorway to listen.

"She's not gonna forgive him. She's had to put up with so much from him, Ma… I won't let her forgive him… He's all wrong for her…" Zell muttered, running his fingertips over the metal knuckles on his gloved hand. "She deserves so much better…"

"Well, dear, if she's gonna forgive him, you can't stop her. She's been with him so long; she might love him by now. And it's difficult to just stop loving someone, no matter how badly they hurt you… She'll realize it someday… And then maybe she'll see you as more than a friend, Zelly!" Molly said, laughing softly.

Zell's face grew red. "Aw, Ma, stop it… She's my best friend…"

She climbed to her feet and winked at her son. "And my husband was once my best friend too." She laughed again and stepped through the doorway. Selphie jumped back like she had been burned, and her hands instinctively went to her hair, which she realized was a mess and sticking out everywhere.

"Oh, Selphie, dear, it's good to see you again. How are you? Well rested I hope, Hyne knows you really needed the rest. Would you like something to eat?" Ma strode past her, not even showing that she knew that Selphie had heard the conversation with Zell. She started digging in the cabinets in the kitchen.

"Just a cup of coffee, please." Selphie said, as Zell walked through the doorway. She avoided his gaze, embarrassed by the fact that she had been caught eavesdropping on them. He reached out and touched her shoulder briefly before pulling up a chair and sitting down by the window. He glanced up at her before turning to Molly.

"A cup of coffee is not a meal, dear. You need a real breakfast. Look at how tiny you are, you must eat like a bird!" She started fishing box after container after bag out of the cabinets, as well as pulling out numerous pans.

Zell tilted his head back and laughed. Selphie couldn't help but smile as he turned towards her, grinning. "You're trapped now. She's not gonna let you out of her sight until you explode from eatin' all her good cooking! Right, Ma?" The laughter was still in his voice.

"Hush, Zell." Molly snapped, in good humor. "Why don't you and Selphie go out for a walk around town? The fresh sea air will do her good after being cooped up in your room all night. I'll be done cooking in about an hour." Ma said, already bent over the stove cooking. Zell climbed to his feet and motioned for Selphie to follow him.

"Wait." She planted her feet before stepping outside. "Can I get cleaned up a little?" Zell laughed again, as he looked closer at her hair and makeup.

"Yeah, you might wanna. It might ruin your rep as a hero around here to be walking around looking like I fished you out of the harbor!" He laughed again and she couldn't help but giggle as she lightly socked him in the arm and he pretended to be hurt. She was smiling while fixing her hair and washing her face. Zell was the one thing that kept her from going insane lately, it seemed.

As she washed away the make-up, the tears, and the sleepiness from her face with the chilled water from the faucet, she made up her mind to commit to a change. One that would leave her feeling like everyday was a breath of fresh air, not like she was winded. She knew that it would be a challenge. Everyone believed her to be this happy, carefree person. Would they accept the real her?

She dried her face and set about doing something about her hair. But as she looked at her reflection in the mirror at the extremely curled ends of her hair that reminded her of a smile, she decided to take step one.

After fifteen minutes of being in the bathroom, she emerged to Zell's delight with a new edgier hair style. Her hair resembled a pixie cut with long, side sweeping bangs and face framing chunks of hair. She slipped him a sly smile before stepping out into the sunshine. Zell stumbled over himself and fell out the door onto the cobblestone street. She laughed.

"Whatsa matter, Zelly?" She said, giggling.

He stuttered before running his fingers through her newly shorn hair. "Wow, Seffie… I really like it…" He kicked at a pebble before looking up shyly at her. "You look beautiful Selphie…"

"_You look beautiful Selphie…" He smiled at her and his fingers grazed the side of her face. He cupped his hand around her neck. She looked up at him, a flush coming to her cheeks. "You always did, even when we were little. Selphie, I love you…" He leaned down to her and placed one soft sweet simple kiss on her lips. He pulled away and smiled, before pulling her up to him in a tight embrace… "I love you too, Irvine…" _

Selphie spun away from Zell's stare and bit her lip, tears filling her eyes. Despite cheating on her, she was still very much in love with Irvine. Even though he had torn her heart apart and left her alone to bleed, she missed his charming grin, his warm personality, and his tight embrace. She brushed away a tear that had found it's way down her cheek.

"Selphie?" Zell asked, stepping to stand beside her, concerned. Had what he said upset her? He tried to put an arm over her shoulders but pulled away when she shrugged a shoulder at him. Molly had been right; Selphie was still very much in love with Irvine.

She looked up at him, with sad eyes and a matching smile. "Thank you, Zell." He nodded sadly, before looking out in the direction of the harbor.

"Wanna go for a walk?" He asked, no smile on his face. She nodded and took the lead, her arms crossed over her small chest. Her eyes were blank and staring, as she reminisced about the past.

xxx

"Honestly, Irvine? I think you are an idiot." Quistis stated simply, waving her hand in front of her, as if blowing him away. She handed the glass of soda to Seifer, who was casually reclining on the sofa, forcing Irvine to stand. Seifer took a large gulp of soda before glaring at Irvine.

"Honestly, I think you are – " Quistis shushed Seifer quickly by planting a kiss on his lips and sitting on his knees. He groaned and moved his legs out from under her. She grabbed onto the arm of the couch to keep from falling and spilling her own glass.

Irvine watched their little escapade with impatience. He hadn't come to her to watch her flirt with her dearly beloved. He seriously wanted a way to win Selphie's heart over again. Ironic that he came to Quistis when she had been the one to break the news to Selphie but he figured that she was the romantic type-ish person. Finally he had enough of it. "Would you please stop just one minute and help me out!"

Seifer shot Irvine another glare but didn't say anything. Quistis turned away from her beau and also shot Irvine a glare. _Damn, she's turning into one of him._ Irvine thought, glaring back at them. They sat and glared at each other for a few more minutes before Irvine finally leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor.

"Listen, I know I treated her bad and all but I'm sorry… Now that she's finally gone, I really just how much she means to me… I just want your help. That's all. Quistis, I've never asked anything of you before.. Just please help me this once…" Quistis's jaw dropped as she listened to him beg her.

"But why do you want my help? I was the one who told Selphie about you and your new little girlfriend." She said, crossing her arms over her chest and sitting back. Irvine nodded and drooped his head.

"Yeah, yeah, I know… And I don't blame you… But I saw you and Seifer… No one thought you two would survive but they all seemed to KNOW that Selphie and I were made for each other. Everyone can't always be wrong. I think they know the truth about Selphie and I. You and Seifer made it through everything together, I believe Seffie and I could too." He tipped his hat down over his eyes and turned his face away from the too of them.

Seifer was the one who offered Irvine advice. "Then fight for her, you – " Quistis stopped him again, before he let the room know exactly what he thought about Irvine. Irvine climbed to his feet and ran out the door, his hat firmly set over his eyes once again.


	4. Territorial Dispute

_Chapter Four: Territorial Dispute_

Selphie sat on the edge of the dock, her short legs hanging over the edge. They were too short to reach the water, but every now and then, the waves would splash against the concrete and sprinkle her feet with the warm water. Her sneakers were next to her, her arms still wrapped around her middle. Her eyes stared blankly out over the ocean, the sun glinting off of the water reflected in them.

Zell sat, cross-legged a few feet away. He didn't watch out over the ocean; instead, he watched out over her. He didn't understand it. Maybe Irvine might have been okay in the beginning but he had been watching Selphie slowly crumble under the womanizing cowboy for two years now, ever since they got together after the demise of Ultimecia. Surely Selphie knew that this wasn't the first time Irvine cheated on her.

There had been rumors all over the school of who had gotten to sleep with Irvine every weekend. Some of them were just that, rumors. Who wouldn't want to say that they slept with one of the heroes from the Sorceress War and earn their fifteen minutes of fame? But soon the rumors started to fit so well with Irvine's agenda…

Zell shook his head. Selphie had been playing pretend all along. She knew all of what was going on. She just refused to believe it. She didn't want to believe that someone would hurt her so deeply, so personally. She had been so eager to fight Ultimecia because of the damage the black sorceress was causing but poor Selphie just couldn't fight the damage directed at her. There had been a time when Zell couldn't fight the pain too…

"Selphie? Do you ever remember your parents or anything?" He asked, picking up a pebble and tossing it from hand to hand, his eyes following it. He didn't want to look in her face and see the apparent pain that was tearing her apart.

She shook her head, shaking herself from her thoughts. "I dream about them from time to time." She pulled her feet up and tucked them under her neatly, sitting back on her heels. She began to play with grass that had grown in a crack in the harbor. "I like to think that my dreams are my memories but I don't know…" She glanced up at him, waiting for a fun comment or a grin, anything that could chase away the demons in her heart. But Zell didn't look up from the pebble, being tossed between gloved hands, as he told her about his memories.

"I unequipped the guardians as soon as we defeated Ultimecia. I didn't want to forget that battle. Or what we had gone through together. But as soon as I did that, I not only remembered, I started remembering things that I had forgotten." The pebble went faster and faster between his two hands. "I remember a small little village, kinda like Winhill but even smaller. It's near an ocean. I remember walking along the beach every day with my mom – my real mom – and picking up shells. When the sun started to set and the tide began to rise, my mom and I would go inside. She'd start cooking dinner and she'd let me rinse away all the sand and dirt from the shells.

"She'd tell me to pick out my favorite shells and when dinner was done, she and I would sit there, eating and stringing the shells together. We'd make necklaces, bracelets, decorations, everything you can think of with those shells. And some days we'd go out and sell them at the market." The pebble was flying between his hands. "My dad would come home, and we'd all eat dinner together. Then one day, when I was about six or seven…

"All the men gathered because Galbadia was forcing everyone to join the war against Adel. My mom didn't want my dad to go; she was pregnant and couldn't manage on her own. My dad tried to make her go back home but she refused, not without him. One of the Galbadian soldiers got mad and he tried to push her away. She tried to fight him but he got rougher with her. My dad tried to stop the soldier and the soldier pulled out his gun." Zell's voice broke but he quickly cleared his throat and kept telling his story. Selphie stared at him, wide-eyed.

"He accidentally shot my mom. He killed both her and my baby sister. My dad lost it. He loved my mom so much… He lived for her. And he died for her. My dad killed the soldier then shot himself in the head…" The pebble flew from his hands and landed with a 'plunk' in the water before sinking. He rubbed at his eyes briefly before looking up at her.

"Zell… I…" She said, her voice a whisper. He fumbled with something around his neck. Over his head, he pulled it and extended it in her direction. It was a worn black string, strung with several kinds of shells.

Their eyes met. "Last summer I went back to the orphanage to talk to Edea and see if she knew anything about my parents. She brought me a black tin box, shaped like a heart, filled with all kinds of stuff. She pulled out this necklace and told me that it had been clutched in my fist when I had been brought to the orphanage. She had kept it, because she knew that someday we'd all remember our parents and would want a small piece of them. This was the last necklace that my mom and I had made, the day she died." Selphie gulped. She climbed up and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

He grabbed her hand and placed the necklace in her hand. He closed her fingers around it. She lifted her head, confused. He looked at her, his blue eyes serious. "I want you to have it, Selphie." She shook her head, fervently, and tried to hand it back to him but he wouldn't take it.

"Oh, Zell, I can't. It's yours… It's a family heirloom. It's special to you…" She panicked, trying to give it back to him. But he wouldn't take it!

"Selphie." He said, firmly enough that she stopped and looked back up at him. "You are special to me." He stood up and walked away, heading back in the direction of his house. Selphie looked down at the necklace in her hands before putting around her neck. Her fingers brushed the precious sea shells gently and she tucked the necklace under her shirt. She looked out over the sea, her mind filled with thoughts and memories.

xxx

"Hello? Hello? Is anybody here?" Irvine banged on the closed window, hollering for someone to answer him. He had to find Selphie and he didn't want to go wandering around Balamb City, looking for her, and then find out that she was actually on the train heading to Esthar or something like that. Finally the shade lifted up and an old man appeared at the window. He yawned loudly and groaned.

"What do you want? What!" The man shouted, rubbing at his eyes.

"Did you see a short girl, with flippy brown hair come through here yesterday?" Irvine shouted, banging his hand on the ledge for emphasis. The man glared at him with red eyes before sliding the shade down loudly. "Hello?" Irvine asked. When he got no response, he groaned. _Great, now what?_

His answer came when he looked down the road and saw Zell running up from the ramp that led to the dock. The blonde man didn't see Irvine as he ran down the steps into a house, that Irvine recognized as Molly Dincht's place. He thought about following after Zell but decided against it. If Zell had actually tried to convince Selphie to come back to him, she would be back in his arms right now. So, maybe Zell wasn't to be trusted…

The cowboy was careful sneaking past the Dincht's residence, making sure to crawl past the windows. But as soon as he had passed the house, he climbed to his feet and ran to the dock. He smiled as he saw her. She sat on the edge of the dock, wearing her red tank top and black shorts. He almost didn't recognize her without the happy flip in her hair but he knew it was her. He could pick her out from a crowd of a million people. He walked up behind her.

"Zell?" She asked, thinking it was the fighter that was walking up behind her.

Irvine glared. _Yeah, Zell's gonna get it!_ But he dropped the glare and put a smile on his face to greet his girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend. Or soon-to-be-girlfriend. Whatever she was. "No, baby, it's me."

Selphie jumped and she nearly toppled over into the water but Irvine caught her and pulled her to her feet. He bent over and to hug her but she shoved him away. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing here?" She threw her hands in the air and shook her head. "No, Irvine, I don't want to hear it. Leave me alone, go back to Balamb. We're over…"

He grabbed her wrist but quickly let go again when she spun on him, furious, fire in her forest green eyes. "Baby, just let me say something… Please? C'mon, I went to freakin' Quistis and Seifer for advice, the least you can give me is a chance to explain myself!"

She stopped and looked back over her shoulder at him. "Explain yourself? What's there to explain? We've been together for two years and clearly our relationship means nothing to you because you'll sleep with whatever skank comes along and tries to jump in your bed. I thought we had something, Irvine, but obviously, I was just being used, a toy for your entertainment." Irvine bowed his head when he saw that tears were welling up in her eyes. He fell to his knees in front of her and took her hands in his.

Gently he kissed each and every knuckle on her hands before looking up at her. She was sobbing as he began to speak. "Ever since I was a stupid little teen boy, I ran around with all of the girls. I never could keep a girlfriend, but that was okay because I didn't really want any of them. I just craved the attention. Since I didn't know my parents, I wanted something to cling to, something I could call my own, but none of the girls I met could fill the hole in my heart." He climbed to his feet but looked down at her. He brought a hand to her chin and tilted her face upwards to him.

"And then I found you… You made me feel like no other. I was sure that I had finally found the missing puzzle piece and it scared me. I was scared because I thought that I'd lose you again. I got stupid, the fear made me an idiot. I should have just trusted our love and let it be at that. But no… I'm so sorry, baby, but I promise that if you give me another chance, I will show you. You are the only thing that I've ever wanted!" He leaned down to kiss away her tears but before he could, a voice shouted.

"Get away from her!" Selphie yanked her hands out of Irvine's grasp and turned to look as Zell ran down the ramp. He stepped in front of Selphie, blocking her from Irvine. "Go away, Irvine. She doesn't want you anymore. You hurt her too many times." Selphie bowed her head and began to walk along the edge of the dock.

Irvine stared at Zell. "I thought you told me you would help me. I thought you agreed to try and talk her into coming back to me!" He yelled.

Zell shook his head, laughing. "No, I said I'd talk to her. I never agreed to anything. I talked to her and convinced her that she could do better and that this was the one chance she needed to be rid of you and be who she really is."

Irvine tried to sidestep Zell but the blonde matched him step for step. "Selphie, sweetheart, please tell him. Tell him that you want to be with me. Baby, I love you!" He stammered, pleading with her. But before he could move around the blonde to reach out for Selphie, Zell landed a punch in Irvine's stomach. When he pulled his fist away and watched as Irvine doubled over in pain, he gawked. He couldn't believe that he had actually hit him… He closed his eyes as he heard Selphie gasp.

Selphie yelped. Tears flooded her eyes. "Can't I just be happy…?" She whispered. She stormed past the two men in her lives and ran to the only place she had found a moment of respite – Zell's bedroom. She closed the door and locked it before burying her face in the pillow. Why didn't it ever end? She had thought that the battle against Ultimecia would be the hardest thing she'd ever have to do but she was horribly wrong.

"Selphie? Baby, I'm sorry…" Irvine pleaded with her at the door, knocking softly. She could hear the sound of something sliding against the wall and a soft thud. She bit her lip, silencing her sobs, to find out what happened. Did Zell hit him again? "I'm so sorry… Can't you believe me? Just give me one more chance, sweetheart…" She started to cry again. Nope, Zell hadn't hit him again, Irvine had just leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, to sit there.

"Go away, Irvine. Go back to Garden." She mumbled. "Leave me alone!" Her eyes turned towards the window when she realized someone had knocked on it. Zell's face appeared in the window and he flashed her a grin. She groaned and rolled over, covering her face with the pillow. He yanked the window open as quietly as he could and scrambled into the room. He sat at the foot of the bed, the smile gone from his face as he stared at the pillow she was hiding under.

"Selphie, I'm not the kind of guy who will sit here and beg. And I know that it is your decision on what do you with this situation. But I just want you to remember how special you are to me. I'm your best friend and if things are to stay that way, then fine. But I never want to be anything less than that." She peeked under the pillow at him and he smiled at her sadly before climbing to his feet and creeping back out the window.

Irvine knocked one more time at the door. "Seffie?" She could hear someone climbing the steps behind him. "Oh, hi, Ms. Dincht." He mumbled, taking his hat off.

"Irvine, it's getting late. It'd be best for you to return to Balamb Garden for tonight and let Selphie rest." Irvine nodded and headed down the stairs. Selphie climbed out of bed and stood at the window, watching his slow progression down the street and out of the city. She sighed and when she looked down, she could see Zell sitting in the street, leaning with his back against the house. He had his head down. Selphie sighed. What was she supposed to do?

xxx

"Zell?" She whispered, stepping out the front door. She glanced down the street. He was sitting where he had been earlier. Where could he be? She pulled her jacket tighter around her body before heading towards the docks. She could see the outline of the dueler sitting at the edge of the dock, his legs hanging over just like hers had been earlier that day. His blue eyes were staring out over the sea, which was as flat as marble.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled. "Hey, Seffie…" He turned back to the ocean. She sat beside him and took his hand in hers. He glanced at her, confused, but by now, her eyes were trained on the sea.

"I was always trying to make everyone else happy. Ever since I was a little girl, my goal in life was to keep everyone else smiling, even if it cost my own happiness. During the war with Ultimecia I stayed by Irvine's side because I didn't want to hurt him by rejection. But the more time I spent with him, the happier I found myself." Her grip on Zell's hand tightened. "But then I felt him pulling away. I began to feel like I wasn't enough to keep him happy. I fell out of love with him. Or maybe I never really loved him. Maybe it was just habit to feign love while trying to keep him happy." Her lip trembled and her voice grew shaky.

"Selphie…. I'm sorry… " Zell began but she cut him off.

"I should have seen it from the beginning." Her eyes turned towards him. "I never loved Irvine because… Because I loved you, Zell… But things didn't seem right. All I wanted to do was make people happy but you… You were already happy. So I pushed myself away, thinking that you didn't need me. But in fact, I needed you…" Selphie began to cry, her grip loosening on his hand. He pulled her close, keeping her in a tight hug.

"I love you, too, Selphie."

"You're the only one who really saw me for who I really was. I'm no different from everyone else. If you cut me, I'll bleed. If you hurt me, I'll cry." He kissed her lightly on the lips and held her tight, wiping away her tears.

"I'll never hurt you, Selphie, I promise."

She stared up at him, tears still blurring her vision. _Irvine said the same thing, Zell..._ But Selphie didn't say a word and just let herself be comforted. She blinked away the remaining tears and looked away from his steady gaze and out over the ocean. Was this the new start that she needed? She smiled. It was definitely a new direction.


	5. Finally, You and Me

_Chapter Five: Finally, You and Me_

When you finally find that one person that makes you feel complete, that makes you feel like you can breathe easy in a world of chaos, it should end in happily ever after, right? Irvine never came back that day after Zell hit him and Selphie opened her heart to another man. And it made Selphie bitter. Even though he had hurt her like no one had ever hurt her before, she had expected him to change his ways and try to be her best friend, if he couldn't be her boyfriend. If he really loved her, he would have tried.

Selphie loved being loved by Zell, but everyday, her eyes would look toward the city gates of Balamb, expecting to see Irvine trotting through the archway, a smile on his face. But each and every day she was more and more disappointed. But she calloused over the wounds in her heart and tried to focus on making it last between her and Zell. He treated her the way a man should treat the woman he loves.

But there was always something missing, and as autumn turned to winter, and winter to spring, Selphie couldn't quite figure it out... She could only hope that time would heal her and answer the questions she needed answered.

xxx

Zell hummed to himself. It wasn't a familiar tune, or a popular song, just a string of notes that strung themselves together as they came to mind. But it was a quick and happy tune, whatever its name may be. He nodded to those who passed him on the street, or gave a quick wave. Everyone who saw him knew him to be a man in love. It was obvious, the way he wore it on his face. He skidded to a stop in front of the gift shop and greeted the shopkeeper warmly.

"I need a bouquet of daisies and some chocolates please!" He said, pulling the wad of cash from his pockets. He had been dating Selphie for nearly half a year now and he found himself growing more and more in love with her with each and every passing day. Just when he thought he had figured out and knew her inside out, he would discover something more about her that he had never known before. And together, they tried to piece together their past, and figure out just who they were. Selphie had been curled up in his arms, sound asleep, the night that she dreamed the dream about her parents.

She had cried because she finally knew what had happened to them. Her tears weren't just that of sadness, though. She cried out of joy because she finally could put a face to her previously faceless parents. Now, when she felt the pain of being an orphan, she could recall their faces and rejoice quietly in the fact that they were watching her now from heaven.

"You are a changed man, Zell." The woman at the counter giggled as she arranged the daisies in a bright yellow flower pot for him, and tied a yellow ribbon around them. Daisies were Selphie's favorite flower, and yellow her favorite color. He grinned back at her, scratching the back of his head.

"Aw, whaddya mean? I'm still the same old me, Sara, you know that!"

She shook her head and pulled the chocolate covered cherries, Selphie's favorite candy, from the shelf behind her and set it on the countertop next to the daisies. "Before you met her, sdfyou were just like a puppy. Always running off somewhere, with no direction. Chasing your tail. And now... " She winked at him. "Selphie is pointing you in the right direction. To the future you deserve, Zell." He blushed. "So when are you going to marry her? You better tie her down soon!" Zell's eyes widened, shaking his head as he placed the fist full of cash on the counter.

"Keep the change, thanks." He said, waving a goodbye. She merely laughed, a knowing smile on her face. Zell breathed in deeply the smell of the fresh daisies, a smile gone from his face. Marry Selphie? Hyne knew that he wanted to be with her forever but was it too soon? He knew that Selphie still needed time, time to figure out who she really was. But couldn't he help her do that? Couldn't he be the one to point her in the right direction the way she had him? They had already started looking for a place to live outside Molly's house, so was that a sign that Selphie was ready for the next major step in life?

Dread filled Zell's stomach. Not at the thought of marrying Selphie, but at the thought of her turning him down. What if she did say no? Or what if she decided that she never wanted to marry? Or what if she just didn't want to marry him? He shook his head, and shook away the fears with it. That time would come when he would get down on one knee and ask the only woman he had ever loved, besides his mother and Matron, to marry him. Maybe that time would be soon. Only time could tell.

His face lit up brighter than before.

xxx

Selphie struggled the lug the last suitcase up the stairs to the bedroom she now shared with Zell. Quistis had finally managed to find time in her busy schedule to round up the last of Selphie's stuff from Balamb Garden to bring it to her at the Dincht's residence. Quistis had been full of questions about Selphie's new life, but not a single questions passed Selphie's lips about the life she had left behind. So Quistis sat on the bed, dodging around the subject of Irvine, and chatted consistently and persistently about life at Garden.

Selphie had finally sighed heavily. "Enough, Quistis. I know you want me to ask about Irvine so fine... How is Irvine? What's he been up to?" She placed her hands on her bony hips and stared at Quistis, slightly irritated. This was supposed to be a new start in a new life, but there were times were she still played pretend. Every time she saw Quistis she played pretend that she didn't care about what was happening with Irvine while she desperately wanted to know.

Quistis nodded. "You'd be surprised Selphie. I know that you think that he hasn't changed, but he has... I've heard so many complaints in class from the girls who have tried so hard to hook up with him but he won't have anything to do with him. He still stays in the dorm you two shared together and guess what! He even took over the Garden Festival Committee." The blonde woman climbed to her feet and opened up a box and started to pull out some of Selphie's clothes, shaking the dust from them before she folded them neatly on the bed. "The Festival's next weekend." She eyed Selphie, gauging for a reaction. "You really should come."

Selphie sighed again and shook her head. "No, Quistis, I can't. I can't go back there. There's too many broken memories. I'm happy here with Zell and I want to stay here with him." Quistis nodded, understanding her friend's pain. But for how long could one person go on hurting? Shouldn't there be some kind of closure?

Quistis fiddled with her ring before her face lit up. "Hyne! I can't believe I forgot to tell you!" She grinned widely and held out her left hand, the diamond in the ring on her hand glinting brilliantly in the sun. "Seifer proposed to me last Friday! He took me to the flower fields near the orphanage and proposed to me! We're going to get married this fall, on our anniversary of getting together!" Selphie wrapped her arms around her best friend and congratulated her. She may have seemed like she was focused on the conversation about Quistis and Seifer's wedding plans, but her mind was really working.

What would her and Irvine being doing right now if they hadn't ended so abruptly? Selphie turned her back on her friend as she folded her clothing and stuffed them in the dresser drawers. She blinked back tears. Would she have had a ring on her finger too? Would she be flipping through magazines, looking at dresses and deciding who would be in the wedding party. Her green eyes turned towards the window. Zell was out running some errands and when he came home, Selphie was going to tell him how much she loved him. Marriage? One could do without. At least, that's what she told herself. Marriage was at least a little more secure. Or at least it made you feel that way.

Selphie kicked the suitcase up the final step and plopped down on top it, sighing deeply. She rested her chin in her hand and closed her eyes. She was happy with Zell, she really truly was, for once, happy. But sometimes she felt like she was two people. She was the Selphie who could be herself with Zell, the one who was in love and content with her life. But when she was alone, her mind tended to wander and she became the Selphie whose every thought was another stab to the already bleeding heart. She felt like she would never really, truly be over Irvine.

She always told herself that it would take time. But time seemed to do nothing for her pain; it only made her wonder more. She climbed back to her feet, willing herself to clear her mind. She zipped open the suitcase, expecting clothes. What she found instead was a suitcase full of memories...

xxx

Zell's grin only got wider, if it was even possible. The brief walk home had turned into an hour long walk around Balamb City as he thought and planned. He had money saved up but would it be enough to buy an engagement ring? He could only hope. But he knew better than to just spring the question on Selphie. He would ask her tonight, even though he had no ring. But he would ask her and promise her the world and more. When he was with her, he really felt that he could hand her the world. "God, I love you, Selphie!" He whispered to himself. Marriage. That would be the one right thing he did with his life.

Finally he understood that it didn't take battles and glory and gil to make a man. It took the love of those around him to build him up to what he truly was. And Selphie really did make him the man he wanted to be. Zell climbed the stairs, his hands gripping the flowers and chocolates tightly. This was it. She was already his best friend, his lover, so why shouldn't she be his soul mate as well? He rehearsed the lines in his head and imagined what she would say in response. He paused and breathed deeply at the top of hte steps as he tried to calm his frazzled nerves. He adjusted the chocolates so that he could open the door but his hand stopped on the doorknob.

He could hear Selphie through the wood door. She was crying. But why? Zell turned the knob and opened the door, desperate to find out why she was upset. She had seemed just fine earlier, before he had left. She had seemed more than fine. What had happened since then? A thought came to mind but he quickly shook it away. _What if Irvine had stopped by today?_ Irvine would never come back. There were some lines that weren't meant to be crossed.

Zell dropped the flowers and the chocolates. The vase shattered upon hitting the floor and the shards were floated in the puddle of water. The daisies were still beautiful, even in their mangled mess. The chocolates fell from the package and rolled under the bed and dresser and every possible nook and cranny it seemed. Zell found himself unable to breathe as he found out why Selphie was crying. She was sitting on top of her suitcase, pictures spread out on the floor around her and more were still in her lap. Zell didn't have to look hard to know what was in the pictures. They were pictures of her and Irvine and the life they had shared together. He closed his eyes as she scrambled to her feet, quickly brushing away the tears.

"Zell, I - " He held up a hand and stopped her. He shook his head and turned his back on her, trudging down the stairs. He had come tonight, ready to give her his heart, his faith, his trust, as well as the rest of his life and what does he find? That her heart, her faith, her trust, still belonged to Irvine. "Please, Zell, let me explain!" She demanded, her voice husky with tears. He shook his head once more.

"There's nothing to explain. You still love him, and you clearly don't love me as much as I love you." She reached out his arm but he yanked it out of her grasp coldly. Her jaw dropped and she stared at him in disbelief. Never had he acted so cold and bitter towards her.

"I do love you! It's just there's some things you never really get over! He was my first real love, Zell... That's a hard thing to forget!" She stammered, feeling weak.

He shook his head. "I came here tonight to propose to you, Selphie. I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you. But I can't do that if Irvine's always going to be in the picture one way or another. It's me or him, Selphie and if you haven't gotten over him in all this time, then fine. I can't be with you. I can't be with someone who doesn't want to be with me." He walked through the front door, slamming it hard behind him. As he walked away from the house, fuming, he could hear her sobbing harder than before. _I don't care that I hurt her. She hurt me... _At least that's what he told himself.

When he came home later that night, the daisies and chocolates had disappeared. And so had all of Selphie's stuff. He yanked open the dresser drawers and the closet door, unwilling to believe that she was gone but not a trace of her was left behind. He collapsed onto his bed, rubbing his eyes to keep the tears at bay. But finally he couldn't hold back the pain anymore and for the first time since his grandfather had passed away, he cried, hugging his pillow tightly, wishing that it was Selphie that he was clinging to...


	6. Different From Me

_Chapter Six: Different From Me_

Zell counted down the hours, the minutes, the seconds of each and every day, willing it to pass by as quickly as possible. Every bit of time that Selphie wasn't near him felt like someone was ripping apart his heart and he wanted time to pass as quickly as possible so he could heal the pain of not being with her. But each passing day, the pain only grew worse. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat. He was literally incapable of living without her. He was a lovebird, and she was his mate. Without her, he would only waste away. After almost a month of waiting, he finally decided to return to Balamb and find what it was that kept her from him. And he wanted to apologize. If he couldn't have her, he at least wanted the knowledge of knowing that they could be the best friends that they were before. Or at the very least, harbor no ill will towards each other.

He swallowed down toast and orange juice and attempted to hide how exhausted and worn out he looked but finally gave up after several futile attempts. He was what he was, a broken man. He slipped one last thing into his pocket before he climbed into the car and drove, slowly but surely, to the Garden, filled with dread. The gut feeling only grew worse as he walked through the doors and through the corridors. People would stop and watch him walk by, knowing looks in their eyes. And as soon as he passed, they would fall into hurried whispers and murmurs. He closed his eyes. He knew a bad sign when he saw one.

He traveled the familiar route to the cafeteria and as he pushed the doors open, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that the cafeteria was crammed full of kids. That meant that it would be easier for him to blend in. Maybe with the chaotic scramble for the precious hot dogs, he could find Selphie without out the frantic whispers and cold looks. He slid through crowds of people, all the while searching for her. Finally, his green eyes found her. He slipped around a group of giggling girls to hide behind a column right next to the table where she sat with none other than Irvine. Quistis, Seifer, and Rinoa also sat with them.

Quistis had a bridal magazine and she was debating with Rinoa on which bridesmaid dresses she should get while Seifer and Irvine were deep in conversation about the best way to kill a T-Rexaur without a weapon or magick. But there was something different about Selphie that Zell couldn't quite figure it. He stared at her intently from his hiding spot, listening to her comments, and trying to figure out what exactly was different about her. Then it hit him.

The smile on her face was fake. The enthusiasm in her voice was fake. Everything about her was fake. She was back to the pretender she used to be. She was no longer the Selphie he had known and loved. _Selphie, why do you do this to yourself?_ He lowered his eyes to the ground, leaning back against the column. When he looked back up, he realized that Selphie was staring at him. But she didn't breathe a word and neither did he. They both just stayed that way, both in pain, staring into each other's eyes.

"Selphie? Are you going to answer my question? What do you think about the bows? Or maybe the pearls? What do you think?" Quistis persisted, pushing the magazine. She followed Selphie's gaze, flicking her eyes in that direction briefly, but she only saw the column. Zell had already vanished. Selphie lowered her eyes to the glossy pages, almost not seeing what lay in front of her. "So?" Quistis asked.

Selphie forced herself to plaster a smile on her face. It was even harder this time because she knew that somewhere Zell was watching her and she was forced to recognize that this wasn't who she was. But she raised her voice to a high pitch and added the perkiness. "Why don't you get one with a bow in the back and just have pearls sown into the fabric of the skirt? That way you can have both!" She added a giggle at the end before climbing to her feet and excusing herself to the restroom.

She looked for Zell but he was long gone by then. She slipped into the bathroom and took one look at her reflection. Her hair still had a long way to growing back out but she had already added a little flip to her shorn ends. Her lip gloss was bubble gum pink and shimmer eye shadow was sprinkled across her eyelids. And to finish off the look, a tear sliding down her face.

xxx

Selphie lifted her eyes to gaze at those seated around the table. Nobody was paying any attention to her other than the occasional glance her way. But it seemed as the night progressed the glances grew in frequency and Selphie had the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was going on. But what? She had made several attempts to leave the table (headache, missed appointment, phone call, etc.) because the life was slowly draining from her body.

She wanted to return to the dorm she now shared with Irvine to crawl under the covers and hide herself away from the world around her. Ever since she had seen Zell his voice rang in the depths of her mind and nothing could get it out. Curiosity irked her; why had he returned? Did he really love her that much? But she quickly shook those thoughts away. He had returned only to prove his own points: that she was a fake and that her friends and lover didn't deserve her.

But she found that she could not replace her love for him with bitterness or resentment. Selphie was brought back to reality when a hand reached under the table and gripped hers tightly. She shook her head, blinking dumbly. Irvine leaned forward and whispered gently in her ear, "Are you okay?" She nodded and forced a smile to her face. He grinned back, unable to see the pain beneath the bubble-gum pink smile. He pulled her hand out from beneath the table and kissed her knuckles gently, like he always did before releasing it and pushing back his chair to stand up.

She stared at him, confused. She glanced around at the others seated around the table, trying to figure out why they were all staring at her with wide knowing smiles. "Irvy?" She muttered. His grin only grew wider as he dropped to one knee beside her chair. He placed his hands on either side of her face and leaned in to kiss her softly.

"Selphie, I have loved you all of my life. I've made mistakes, I've hurt you, and I don't deserve you. But you always stayed by my side, suffering, while I gallivanted around, having fun. I searched my entire life for someone to keep by my side, to love and hold, and cherish. But I never saw that she was by my side from the very beginning. Seffie... " Tears blurred her vision but that didn't keep her from seeing the small black box that he pulled out from a pocket in his long jacket.

"Will you marry me?" The tears fell freely from her eyes. Tears of sadness, tears of joy, maybe both. She indeed did love Irvine and it had always been her wish to marry him but what was wrong? That's right. She was fake. He was in love with who she was pretending to be, not the real her. But she slowly nodded her head, promising with that single gesture to marry him, also promising to open herself to him. That she would reveal herself to him. And if he decided that he didn't love the real her in the end, then that would be that. She would grow up and move on.

Irvine slipped the ring onto her finger and pulled her into his arms while she cried her tears. Tears of sadness, tears of joy, maybe both?

xxx

Selphie groaned loudly as she took in the damage she had caused to one of her newer shirts. The red wine stained darkly against the soft pink fabric and she wiped it frantically with a napkin. She threw the napkin, down, pouting slightly. She gazed around the room, her eyes meeting Irvine's, who stood on the other side of the room. He frowned, a questioning look in his eyes. She motioned down towards the stain, stamping her foot when he began to laugh. She pointed towards the door, excusing herself from the engagement party.

Her mind was filled with thoughts as she drifted down the corridor to the dorm she shared with Irvine. The cool breeze that wafted in through the windows made her shiver slightly and she wrapped her arms around her small waist. Amazing how quickly things could turn around. One minute she's torn between a life she's loved and a life where she makes people feel loved, and the next minute she's getting married and making plans to live happily ever after. She would finally be loved back.

Her eyes staring out at the night sky, her hand reached for the door, only to find it already open. Her gaze shot towards the darkened room, her heart skipping a beat. The door was never opened. Only she and Irvine had the card key. She narrowed her eyes, peering into the darkness. She could make out a slight form in the bedroom, standing next to the window. She stepped lightly across carpeted floor, reaching for her weapon that sat like a positioned snake on the table.

She lifted it and continued to stride towards the unknown person, whose back was turned to her. "Who are you?" She shouted, bringing the end down onto the person's back. But the figure dodged it swiftly, calling out her name.

"Selphie!"

She dropped her weapon, it clattering to the floor, and her jaw dropped with it. "Zell? What are you doing here?" She reached for the light switch and found his wide blue eyes staring into her own. But there was something wrong with them... The life and love that had once lit up his face was gone. He stepped forward, opening his arms. She hesitated but fell into them, hugging him tightly.

"I came to ask you something, Selphie..." He pulled back a little, smiling sadly. He grabbed her hand, his other hand curved around an object. But as he was about to place it in her hand, his finger ran over the ring that Irvine had given her. He stopped in his tracks, pushing her hand away, and shoving the hand that held something deep into his pocket. "What... What is that?" He stammered, in disbelief.

Selphie bit her lip and lifted her hand, staring at the engagement ring. "Irvine asked me to marry him today, Zell..." He sighed deeply and forced a smile to his face.

"Selphie, you'll always be my best friend." He grabbed her hand once more and pushed the object into it, closing her fingers tightly around it. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips before whispering, "But I know the real you. You're no different from me." He slipped past her and Selphie was left standing in the middle of the room, staring at the object that he had given her. She felt the tears coming but waved them away. It was true; she was no different from him. She was no different from anybody else. But did that mean that everyone else suffered the way she did?


End file.
